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STATE FUND DEFRAUDED

A 30-year-old Lindenhurst, N.Y., man has been charged with fraud against the New York State Insurance Fund after his construction company allegedly cashed checks exceeding its reported payroll. Justin Greenfield, owner of Greenfield Construction, was arrested Dec. 15, and charged with fraudulent practices for violating workers' comp laws, a felony. Greenfield reported sales of $41,000 during a New York State Insurance Fund audit for the period from May 2005 through May 2006, with no employees other than himself, investigators allege.

Lewis & Clark LTC RRG Inc., a provider of liability insurance to long-term care facilities, has merged with Sophia Palmer Nurses RRG Inc. Sophia Palmer RRG was established in 2006 to provide nurses in Florida with professional liability coverage that was not available in the traditional insurance market. The merger will extend coverage to nurses in 48 states served by Lewis & Clark. Through the merger, coverage will be open to additional professional classes of allied healthcare providers and facilities.

D&O PRICES SOFTEN

Pricing for directors' and officers' liability insurance decreased 2.7 percent in the third quarter of 2009 compared with the third quarter of 2008, according to Aon's Q3 Quarterly D&O Pricing Index. Following double-digit increases in each of the previous four quarters, D&O pricing for the Standard & Poor's financial institutions sector, increased by only 3.2 percent in the third quarter 2009, reflecting a 39 percent drop from its highest point in 2003. According to the index, D&O pricing for all remaining S&P industry sectors was down an average of 4.9 percent in the third quarter 2009.

XL REDOMESTICATION

XL Capital Ltd. has proposed to change the parent holding company's place of incorporation to Ireland from the Cayman Islands, with the parent holding company to be renamed XL Group Plc. XL said it expects to submit the proposal for redomestication to its shareholders in the next several months and complete the transaction on July 1, subject to approval by shareholders and Cayman Islands regulators.

WOMEN PLAN RETIREMENT

Overall, female wage and salary workers ages 21?64 participate in a retirement plan at a lower level than males did in 2008, according to the Employees Benefit Research Institute, in a brief published in November. However, among full-time, full-year workers of these same ages, females had a higher level of participating in a plan than men: 56.2 percent for women, compared with 53.7 percent for men. Across all of the worker status categories, females were more likely to participate in a retirement plan than males.

FM GLOBAL SWISS BRANCH

FM Global has received a license to conduct business in Switzerland as an admitted insurance company and the company has opened a new branch office in Lugano, FM Global has announced. FM Global's expansion provides the company with more operational flexibility in the region to respond to client needs. The company also will continue as a co-insurer with its existing Swiss partners.

RIMS REVEALS NEW LEADERS

Terry Fleming, director of the division of risk management for Montgomery County, Md., took over the duties of president for the 2010 term, effective Jan. 1, announced the Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc. (RIMS). Fleming is also a former president of RIMS Potomac Chapter and a former president of the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) Maryland Chapter.

--Compiled by staff from news and wire reports.

February 1, 2010

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